The northern edge of the New Madrid Fault butts up against a smaller fault, the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone that extends toward Indiana. The New Madrid Fault is responsible for the strongestearthquakes to shake the United States in 1811 and 1812.

Recent reports have surfaced about dead birds and fish kills in the area in and around the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Are these all coincidental or is New Madrid waking up from its 200-year nap?

Dead birds were reported falling from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas around January 1 and a massive fish kill was reported in the Arkansas River around 100 miles away a couple of days earlier on December 30. According to the United States Geological Survey website, there was a cluster of smallearthquakes (magnitude range 1.7 up to 2.3) centered around Guy, Arkansas between December 30 and January 5. Guy is located about 40 miles northwest of Beebe, and is between Beebe and the area where the fish kill occurred.

On January 3, WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky reported a Gilbertsville woman finding dead birds in her yard. The station reported about 3,000 dead birds in the area, which is located about 300 miles north of Beebe, AR.

In addition, my own area in southern Illinois has seen the dead bird phenomenon. Family members (including my parents, an aunt and an uncle) living near Marion, Illinois stated that there were dead blackbirds in their yards within recent days and one aunt reported finding dead birds as early as the first couple of weeks in December.

Other reports have sprung up about dead birds near St. Louis, MO and Louisiana.